San Francisco Womens Journal » motivation

The Power of Attraction: Do You Wish Upon a Star?

SFWJ — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:34:11 +0000

Elinor Stutz

The lyric, “When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are…”came from a Disney song. It is very applicable to today’s news and translates well to both entrepreneurs and job seekers. It calls into question your power of belief and the following story is very inspiring.

by Elinor Stutz, CEO Smooth Sale

The Lucille Packard Make A Wish Foundation enables children with life threatening disease to make their fondest wish come true. Recently we learned of a 7 year-old girl, Kassaundra, who fought death twice and now lives with a pacemaker in her chest.

Embrace the Spirit of Life

Kassaundra embraces the spirit of life. Ignoring her less than perfect health, she plays softball and swims. But her passion is singing and dancing – more than anything she wants to be a movie star!

The Foundation granted Kassaundra’s request. She was treated to a fancy dress of her choice and a new hair-do. A chauffeur picked her up in a limousine. The Police escorted the limo while photographers and crowds followed them to the theater where Kassaundra was to perform.

She was then led onto stage and performed to cheering fans. She saw her wish come true!

I found three pertinent messages in this story for everything you undertake in life:

1. Find your passion and keep striving to achieve your dream

2. Illness is only a detour – find the strength to overcome

3. Anything is possible when you believe, implement and wish upon a star

While #2 may sound cold-hearted, members of my family and I have overcome health blockades so I know it is possible just as Kassaundra proved and the reward is all the more fulfilling.

On the business side of this is to seriously consider how much attention you are able to attract when you hit the right stride. Prospects, clients, sales, and business development are found on auto pilot easily become yours.

Begin wishing upon a star to find your Smooth Sale!

Elinor Stutz is CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC a San Francisco Bay Area sales training company. She is a speaker and author of the best selling book Nice Girls DO Get The Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results, published by Sourcebooks. Elinor also provides team training and coaching.

You can reach Elinor via e-mail or by phone (800) 704-1499. You can also follow her on Twitter or join the Smooth Sale Facebook Group. To learn more please visit Elinor’s website and blog for her latest insights.

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Grow Your Business: Harness The Exponential “Power of 10″

SFWJ — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:43:49 +0000

Elinor Stutz

First, let me explain the Power of 10 concept and it’s exponential impact on the growth of your business. When you are a sole entrepreneur with a core business eg. healthcare practitioner, you have one audience.

by Elinor Stutz, CEO Smooth Sale

By expanding your service offerings with one product and one service such as a book and supplements, you will have 6 audiences. Your audience has grown to include patients, a readership, and those concerned about nutrition plus the wonderful phenomenon of overlapping audiences such as those who both read your book and then request your core healthcare program or those who want nutritional supplements with your healthcare service.

Exponential Business Growth

Now imagine having a combination of 10 products and services. The audience potential with all the overlap grows to 3,628,800. This number was calculated by multiplying 10 x 9 x 8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1.

As an entrepreneur, it is very important to understand the Power of 10 in all forms of possibility. This is a powerful concept to implement for your business development and to strengthen relationships already in place. 

Following are 3 of many Power of 10 possiblities:

1. Establish a combination of 10+ products and services 

2. Collaborate with 10 or more like-minded and complementary service oriented business people 

3. Provide 10 testimonials and referrals without being asked  

Now let’s examine how to apply the Power of 10 to Twitter.

1. Thank people who mention you and those who Re-Tweet your tweets

2. Participate in Follow Fridays – return the favor to those who RT your messages and who mention you plus take the lead for those you admire

3. Scan favorite quotes and RT those

4. Be a helpful thought leader by offering wise advice

All of these activities will exponentially increase awareness of you and your business. Your number of prospects and clients will increase which in turn attracts far many more sales.

Make certain everyone on your team operates with the same rules and pays close attention to customer service while building relationships.  By keeping a focused mindset on insuring that all the pieces are in place, you will soon attract far many more prospects and clients, and experience the Smooth Sale!

Elinor Stutz is CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC sales training company. She is a speaker and author of the best selling book Nice Girls DO Get The Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results, published by Sourcebooks. Elinor also provides team training and coaching.

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Astrology: 5 Ways Leo Stokes the Creative Fires

SFWJ — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:45:20 +0000

Jamie Kahl

Leo (July 22-Aug 21) is the most creative, expressive sign, there is, and that’s a gift! This can be hard to remember when your friendly neighborhood Leo is being loud and showing off.

by Jamie Kahl , SF Bay Area Astrologer

But the real purpose behind bad Leo behavior is to get in touch with one’s playful, innocent inner child, open up creativity and express one’s real self. Leos at their best are friendly, effusive, warm, welcoming and authentic. Here’s some advice for Leos (and the bit of Leo in the rest of us) on the path to self-discovery and creative expression:

1. Be appropriately self-centered.

This is a delicate balance. Love yourself without arrogance as a flawed-but-beautiful human being: one of many, all of equal importance, holding yourself as your own special charge. You are the shepherd of your own self, the guide of this body, this mind, this heart, this soul, this being. Cherish this person you were given to be.

2. Shine on everyone.

Leo knows a very special secret: that attention is the most valuable commodity in the world. Everybody wants some and almost everybody wants more than they are getting or a different quality of attention than they’re getting. When your Leo side is badly-behaved, it will pull you to grab attention—any attention at all. When your Leo side is healthy, you give attention as the Sun gives sunshine—naturally, because you cannot help it, and because you simply love to share.

3. Be a role model.

Be a leader. Stand up, be seen, be visible. Chief obstacles to this include embarrassment and fear of looking silly. But don’t let them stop you! If people don’t have other people to look to, how can they learn to live? If there’s something you’ve figured out about how to live an excellent life, model that, be that, show that to the world. I’ll betcha someone around you needed to see it in action.

4. Play.

Be a child. Have fun. Get so absorbed in what you are doing that you forget how others see you. Engage others in the fun you are having. Taking a playful approach to just about anything opens up creative channels and allows for relaxed, right-brain thinking.

5. Never underestimate the importance of your unique, authentic creativity.

Leo exists to remind us that the individual point of view is important. Modern physics tells us that the center is everywhere—and nowhere. This means the center of the universe resides in you just as powerfully as in anyone. Your point of view matters, and the creative flow that can come forth only from you and you alone is absolutely crucial to the workings of the whole.

Give Leo credit. It’s not easy to be your truest, most authentic self in front of God and everybody. That’s scary stuff. Occupy your whole social footprint—no more, no less, and the Leo in you will be happy.

* You don’t have to “be” a Leo to feel like one. Everybody’s got at least a little Leo inside (and sometimes a lot); even if their actual “sign”, (i.e. Sun sign) is something else.

Read more about Leo on Jamie’s Astrology and Personal Empowerment blog.

And if you’re not a Leo, check out Jamie’s other articles on Gemini, Taurus, Aries and Cancer!

Jamie Kahl is a professional astrologer with 30 years of study and 18 years of practice in Berkeley, CA. She specializes in showing women the power of feminine archetypes in everyday life. She does readings for individuals, couples and families. She also teaches classes in person in Berkeley and online.

Jamie believes that every human being contains the seeds of greatness, and that your astrology chart is the finest shortcut to accessing it. Using your chart as the “owner’s manual for being you,” Jamie can help you have satisfying relationships, enjoy career success, discover your life purpose and navigate your path in ways tailored to work uniquely for you. Learn more at Pandora Astrology.

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Decorative Painting: The Fine Art of Client Collaboration

SFWJ — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:20:33 +0000

Debra Disman

In my world of site specific Decorative Painting, every project is a collaborative effort that is designed to translate the Client’s inner vision into concrete visual form.

by Debra Disman, Decorative Painter

I am not alone in this effort. When I look around on a job site, interact with designers, architects, contractors and craftspeople, and observe real estate agents and property specialists, I can see that everyone working with Clients has this goal in mind.

Clients are Our Key Collaborators!

When I worked with a delightful couple poised for retirement from distinguished academic careers, I observed the collaborative nature of their relationship with their realtor Robin Miller, “Realtor Robin, The Nest Finder” who referred me to them.

A True Collaboration

Clients Debra and Gil embraced the magic of decorative painting as one means to create the unique wine country home they had in mind. I listened carefully to what they said, and then offered ideas and suggestions on how to use my work to achieve their vision.

At its best, the creative process with Clients is give and take, a true collaboration. Debra and Gil named their new home “Windstone”, and commissioned signage above their front door. They researched fonts, and I chose metallic hues that I felt would pull out the lettering, and integrate with the colors, treatments and design of the adjoining room.

Together we worked on color choices and custom treatments designed to marry the existing architecture with the sense of clarity, warmth and elegance they desired in their new “dream” home. During the process, I helped them hone and clarify their vision, and offered feedback and support on their choices.

Said Gil, “We feel so reassured about the direction of our decisions….it helped us so much that you liked the choices we had made…– you give us confidence!”

Capturing a Unique Vision

A botanist by training, Gil not only designed an actual vineyard for their backyard, he and Debra also presented me with an original quote to be lettered over their wine bar niche, in which a vineyard mural was painted. As with all projects, I showed Samples of styles, scale and colors for them to choose from.

The Sampling process is crucial to enable Clients to get a sense of what the finished application will actually look like in their environment. It is this attention to detail that will produce the desired effect. As a site specific Decorative Painter, this is the Client response I seek:

“You …captured our vision….But even more so, you added so much “texture and depth” to our concept by providing insights and ideas that will truly transform our home into a special wine country manor.”

Have FUN, while Exceeding Expectations

Gil and Debra are accomplished cooks, and their kitchen tray ceiling cried out for a treatment that would enhance it as an architectural detail, add warmth, depth and interest, and reflect the copper accents throughout the room. The warm coppery orange colors also stimulate the appetite!

When Debra and Gil affirmed that I was “able to artfully capture our vision for Windstone and make it even better than we could imagine.” I knew that the goal of translating their inner vision into concrete visual form had been realized.

However, when they declared, “THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!”

I knew we had transcended the goal of our work, and had met one of the needs of our soul: to share our skills, talents, and creativity, and have a blast in the process!

Long after our work was complete, Gil and Deb confided, “We tell everyone what an enjoyable experience it was…” Clients should look back upon our collaboration as a wonderful experience! This spells success, as much as their appreciation and enjoyment of the colors, finishes and treatments now gracing their home.

May you always meet the goals of your work while satisfying the needs of your soul, and enJOY every moment of the process!

Debra Disman’s passion is to translate her Client’s inner vision into concrete visual form. She can help you use the magic of decorative painting to transform your home, place of business, even your community!

She is principal of ArtiFactory Studio, a decorative painting company based in San Francisco, CA which provides custom decorative painting, murals, and color consultation to customers from all backgrounds and walks of life. Debra holds a degree in painting from the University of Iowa and has studied in France, San Francisco, and San Diego. She is a provisional member of the International Association for Colour Consultants/Designers and serves as the Color Muze for blog talk radio’s Artistically Speaking Radio. To learn more about decorative painting, please visit ArtiFactoryStudio, or connect with her on Twitter or Facebook.

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Kick Your Smoking Habit with Hypnosis!

SFWJ — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:19:19 +0000

Jane Ransom

In February, a friend of a friend telephoned asking for help quitting cigarettes. Sheila had been smoking since age 16. The habit felt like such a part of her that she was willing to give it up only for one very good reason: She was pregnant.

byJane Ransom, Certified Hypnotherapist

Can Hypnosis Help You Quit Smoking?

Sheila wanted to know if hypnosis helps people to quit smoking. Numerous studies have found hypnotherapy to be the most effective way to kick the habit, the reason being that it works to change a client’s subconscious programming.

Like most smokers, Sheila felt that smoking relaxed her, and that she needed cigarettes to get through times of stress. “I know this sounds weird,” she added, “but I sort of feel like smoking is my friend. It’s just always been there for me.”

Nictoin IS Poison

I reassured her that many smokers see cigarettes as their “friend,” even though they know logically that nicotine is a poison (drinking even a thimbleful can kill you) and that a real friend doesn’t poison you!

Most smokers also feel smoking relaxes them, even though this is just as illogical: Nicotine is not only a neurotoxin, it is also a stimulant. Nicotine cannot relax anyone.

So why do smokers have the impression that their “friend” nicotine relaxes them? It is because throughout the years, they have created an association in the brain between cigarettes and moments of relaxation: smoking while taking work breaks, socializing with friends, relaxing after a meal, or with a drink, and so on.

Moreover, usually when a smoker first lights up, she inhales deeply and exhales slowly.

The truth is, anytime you inhale deeply and exhale slowly, you will relax your own physiology. (That is why so often you see public speakers and entertainers taking a moment to breathe before they perform, to calm their nerves.)

You Have Trained Your Brain to Believe that Smoking Relaxes You

Thus, over the years, a smoker’s brain learns to subconsciously associate smoking with relaxation. Once that neural association is created, then whenever the smoker reaches for a cigarette, the brain releases hormones and neurotransmitters connected with calmness.

So it is not that smokers are imagining the relaxation they experience when they smoke. It is just that it’s their brain, and not the cigarette, that is actually creating the calming effect.

Like most of my smoking-cessation clients, Sheila was able to quit during her first session. Through hypnosis, we dislodged her subconscious association between smoking and relaxation, and we created healthier tools she can use to calm herself in the future. The session lasted nearly three hours, because we took time to “desensitize” her to all the old triggers, all those times in the past when she used to reach for a cigarette: with coffee, after meals, having a drink, etc.

Hypnosis Helps You Quit Smoking

It has been more than four months now since Sheila quit. Her recent sonogram came out well. She and her husband Steve are thrilled to be expecting their first child, and they are both ecstatic that Sheila is smoke-free. She will be a wonderful mother, and she already has a great start.

Jane Ransom, MA, C.Ht., conducts hypnotherapy sessions in her downtown San Francisco office, as well as by phone and online web-cam. She helps clients with a multitude of health issues, including weight loss, chronic pain and smoking cessation, and she also leads clients to achieve career, sports and artistic success.

As a public speaker, Jane offers talks and workshops on how to boost self-confidence and motivation, improve relationships and invite inspiration. For more information, please visit Jane’s website, HypnotherapyThatWorks.

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Grow Your Small Business with the Art of Giving and Receiving!

SFWJ — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:54:37 +0000

Elinor Stutz

Are you able to give and receive?

Over the past couple of years, I changed my business development model of “going it alone” to that of collaboration. There was indeed a learning curve involved.

by Elinor Stutz, CEO Smooth Sale

I smile now as I hear the discussions of so many who say they find it hard to “receive”. In my former days, many others and myself included had the opposite problem. We found it difficult to “give”.  As salespeople we kept to ourselves for fear our competitors would discover our secrets.

Find the Balance of Giving and Receiving

Luckily I awakened to a new reality. Should you truly wish to attract sales, one of the better strategies is to find that balance of giving and receiving. An excellent first step is to find groups online whose discussion topics are complementary to your business model.

Take an active role by answering questions that speak to your specialty. By doing so others will automatically be drawn to your expertise making your business development effortless. As you become comfortable with the group, you may then confidently pose your own questions and receive the help you need. 

Next, find a collaboration or mastermind group comprised of people with similar goals and complementary services. The giving and receiving should be natural for all. Learning both from the expert information available along with a dedicated collaborative team will help you achieve your goals far more quickly.

Grow Your Business with Less Effort

As your activities and relationships build, you will find increased attention from new prospects and clients. When your mindset is focused on delivering your expertise freely and helping those in need, it becomes a marketing message that you are there to serve. Your reward will be receiving greater opportunities than previously thought possible. It’s an entrepreneurial dream to conduct business with much less effort.

Take My Challenge to Find: 

1. Social media groups to join discussions 

2. Collaborative partners 

3. Brainstorm new ideas for products & services with your new team(s)  

When you work openly you will not only attract more sales, but will also have more fun and enjoy the Smooth Sale!
Elinor Stutz is CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC sales training company. Based in Petaluma, CA she is available for team training, coaching, motivational speaking and includes the Smooth Sale product line as part of her program. Her book, Nice Girls DO Get The Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results, published by Sourcebooks sells worldwide.

Elinor welcomes your questions through e-mail or phone: (415) 615-6887 or (800) 704-1499. To learn more please visit her website and blog for her latest insights. You can also follow her on Twitter!

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Astrology: Cancer Excels in Emotional Intelligence

SFWJ — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:21:04 +0000

Jamie Kahl

Do you know why Cancers (June 21-July 21) are so lovable? Emotional intelligence, that’s why! This sensitive Water sign quickly learns that life is all about feelings. Here’s just some of the great stuff Cancers learn as they swim through life’s waters.

by Jamie Kahl , Astrologer

Know What You are Feeling

One of the first and best pieces of knowledge that a smart Cancer learns is how to tell the difference between an emotion, an intuition and a mood. An emotion is any feeling you have. An intuition is a feeling you should pay attention to, even if you don’t know why you are having it, because it’s trying to guide you. A mood is a passing feeling that you don’t want to act on, because such impulses lead to bad choices.

Smart Cancers know the difference!

Manage Your Emotions

Knowing how to manage your own emotions springs directly from knowing the differences between kinds of emotions. When you know why you feel what you feel, then it’s easy to know what you should do about that (or not).

Suppose you just met someone and you took an instant dislike to him. Is that because there’s something creepy about him or is that because you’re in a sensitive mood or is that because they remind you of somebody who was mean to you years ago?

Each situation calls for a different response and you need to know how to choose.

Sympathy and Empathy

An emotionally intelligent Cancer is adept at sympathizing and empathizing with the emotions of others. Cancers are naturally supportive and sympathetic, which gives them an edge when it comes to establishing rapport and connecting with others. Being able to feel-with and feel-for others binds them to you.

Cancers are great bonders.

Cancers Value Love

Cancers value love and the ability to love above being right or being strong. They are not usually stoic people. A Cancer would usually rather be connected to someone they love, even if that connection is painful, than be shut out. Cancers are not usually interested in superiority or in dominating (unless they’ve got a Leo streak).

Loving, connecting and bonding and feeling-with are high on their value scale.

Channel Emotions in Ways that Make a Difference

As a Cancer matures, she becomes able to channel emotions into life in ways that make a difference. As soon as she’s comfortably situated, or at least oriented (and sometimes even before!) she looks around for things that need nurturing and she begins pouring love, care and thoughtfulness into those things. And whether those things include babies, gardens, businesses, projects, people or pets, under the loving gentle rain of Cancerian care, they cannot help but blossom.

It’s not necessary to have your Sun, Moon or Rising in Cancer to develop intuitive ability. Every human being alive has Cancerian emotional intelligence. Cultivate yours and watch your world flower!

* You don’t have to be a Cancer to be a Cancer type. That’s because you could be a Leo (or any other sign) yet have a bunch of planets in your chart in Cancer—enough to tip the balance and leave you feeling more like Crab than Lion.

Read more about Cancer on Jamie’s Astrology and Personal Empowerment blog.

And if you’re not a Cancer, check out Jamie’s other articles on Gemini, Taurus and Aries!

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SF Bay Area Featured Artist: Eve Shen

SFWJ — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:46:36 +0000

“I try to live an interesting life, why be boring when you can be exciting?” exclaims the SF BAWJ June feature Artist, Eve Shen!

Eve’s parents set the stage for an exciting life when they moved their family from Taiwan to the United States. She was 11 at the time and her parents settled their family in New Jersey.

Art has always been a part of Eve’s life…starting with coloring books as a child and later as her favorite class in high school. That interest continued into college where Eve attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design. Feeling stuck in New York, she eventually moved to San Francisco to pursue her passions and see new things!

Art is Therapy for Eve

Eve describes art as her therapy. When she is creating she is often “dancing” at the same time. Her artwork provides a way to get her energy out and to feel good. It’s also a place where she can explore new things and do what feels right to her in the moment.

Chocolate Rasberry

Being a Mom is a New Kind of Creative Expression!

And lately…her moments have been filled with a new kind of creative expression…a son. Today Eve finds herself in the fulltime role of “Mom”. She happily says that her art right now is finding creative ways to raise her son!

"Bulls Eye" was featured on the June cover.

Art Provides Self-Expression and Life Balance

Visual art still has a place in Eve’s life. She relishes the opportunity for self expression and balance that it brings to her life today. Her son and his wonderful imagination are an endless source of inspiration as well as the simple act of stepping outside and experiencing the natural beauty of the Bay Area.

Eve describes her work as organic, fresh, colorful and happy! To learn more please visit her web site at eveshen.com.

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Ups and Downs of the Stock Market: What’s the Impact on Your Investments?

SFWJ — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:24:08 +0000

Tuesday, May 25: Just another day in the stock market: The DJIA (Dow Jones Industrial Average) was down over 200 points mid-day but finished down only 22.82. It bounced around a lot all day. This kind of volatility has gone on for a long time now.

by Cathy Curtis, Certified Financial Planner

The Dow started out on January l, 2010 at 10,428 went as high as 11,205 on April 26, 2010. The low point so far this year was reached on February 8^th when the Dow ended at 9908. The 52 week range of the DJIA (May 2009 to May 2010) was 8057 to 11,309. Before that, the recession low was hit on March 9, 2009 at 6547 – level not seen since 1996. Are you dizzy yet?

The point of citing all these statistics is to illustrate that volatility isn’t unusual and isn’t going away.

The Dow…is made up of only 30 stocks and is not the perfect proxy for the stock market! But it’s the most widely recognized and you can be sure that the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were jumping around too.

Simply Put…Stocks are Volatile

Volatility is a characteristic of stocks. (The volatitality of stocks is #9 on my list of 10 Simple Truths about Money!) Just like you have a gregarious personality or are shy, stocks have volatility.

Volatility measures the relative rate at which the price of a stock moves up or down. Usually the riskier the stock is perceived to be, the more volatile it is. However, this doesn’t imply that the riskier stock will end up losing value over time. This is where most investors get confused.

Volatility Does Not Imply Direction of a Stock or the Stock Market

The long term trend of the market is up. Compare investing in the stock market to raising a child. There can be emotional ups and downs over the years as the child grows up and matures.

Would you abandon your child because he throws a huge temper tantrum in the cereal aisle at Safeway? No. You will patiently get through that episode and many others like it because you know in the end you will have raised a loving child who will take care of you in your golden years.

The stock market behaves the same. It can drive you crazy with worry as it goes up one year 20% and down the next 10% and then back up 30%. But, if you hold on you will be rewarded by better returns on your money than you can get in less volatile assets such as bonds or CD’s.

Stock Volatility and the Impact on Retirement

But, you ask: What about people who are nearing retirement or who are in retirement and the stock market drops like it did in 2008?

Good question. Short-run volatility in the stock market can be a big problem for retirees and for other people who have near-term needs for their money. No one wants to sell a stock when it is down 30% (if it is a perfectly good stock). This problem is easily resolved: a good rule of thumb is that any money that you will need to spend within 3-5 years should probably not be invested in the stock market – especially if you are not earning any money.

Most experts don’t agree on what causes volatility to fluctuate or what causes it in the first place. When unexpected things happen, volatility seems to increase. Which doesn’t help us much because nobody can predict the unexpected. A quote from the book Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, sums up the risk of volatility nicely:

“The real risk in holding a portfolio is that it might not provide its owner, either during the interim or at some terminal date or both, with the cash he requires for essential outlays” Robery Jeffery, investor.

Here are a few tips to help to increase your comfort level with volatility:

1. If you are retired or not earning income keep 3-5 years of cash needs in money market funds, Treasury Bills, CD’s or other short-term money market instruments.

2. If you are working, maintain an emergency fund of 3-6 months of living expenses.

3. If you are worried about losing your job, increase your cash nest-egg to at least one year of living expenses.

4. Maintain a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds and cash depending on your risk tolerance and time horizon. (Not all asset classes go up and down at the same time, reducing volatility.)

5. Don’t just sit on your assets. Rebalance your portfolio occasionally to take advantage of volatility in an asset class: buy low, sell high.

Cathy Curtis is an independent fee-only Certified Financial Planner and CA Registered Investment Advisor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her firm, Curtis Financial Planning (since 2001) specializes in the finances of women, their families and their businesses.

Cathy passionately believes in Financial Literacy and educates consumers through her website CurtisFinancialPlanning, her blog: Of Independent Means, and her facebook business page Women and Money. She speaks frequently about personal finance issues – most recently at the Financial Women’s Association in San Francisco, National Association of Personal Financial Advisors Norcal Group, and the Commonwealth Club.

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Shift to a Brighter Perspective by Taking the Bigger View!

SFWJ — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:55:17 +0000

Nikki Anderson

Do you ever have those days where you had every intention of doing the ‘right’ thing yet nothing went as planned …. Or even worse, it went ‘wrong’.

by Nikki Anderson
Founding Partner and Coach at Think Feel Know

Today was ONE of Those Days!

Today was one of those days for me. First it was an exchange with my boyfriend that was meant to be warm and fuzzy and instead was cranky and disgruntled. Then I was told that something I did wasn’t satisfactory to someone else when I ‘know’ I went above and beyond to deliver excellence to this person.

Then I accidentally sent an email to the wrong person…. And, the icing on the cake was burning part of my dinner (that I was going to serve to my boyfriend too).

It truly was one of ‘those’ days. Thankfully, no one was hurt and nothing was life threatening to myself or anyone else involved. Yet, when I’m in the throws of a day like this, it can seem like everything is bad and all hope is lost…d-r-a-m-a! Yes, it can feel very emotional.

Shift into a Brighter Spot by Taking the Bigger View!

What I’ve learned over time is we ALL have days like this and sometimes even weeks …It’s life!

No matter who you are, how much money you have, how great your sweetie is or how much you love your job – we ALL have days we’d like to order a “do over!”

I’ve also learned that taking a bigger view on my life will shift things into a brighter perspective. For example, does burning a part of dinner for my boyfriend mean that we’re going to split up? NO. In fact, we laugh over it ….and as it turns out he prefers to cook for us.

And, do many of my clients enjoy and get great value from my services? YES. And, in fact, many refer me to others in their network. Most important, am I healthy with wonderful friends and family in my life? Yes, blessed beyond belief.

Focus on the Whole Truth…versus the Small Stuff

In other words, focus on the WHOLE truth. There’s a bigger picture to every situation.

Yes, it is easy it is to get side swiped and carried away with things that go wrong and turn the feelings into a global perspective making EVERYTHING in your life seem bad/wrong….which, of course, is never true.

In the end, all is fine as long as I can remember that it’s small stuff…it’s ALL small stuff. I’m ok, you’re ok … we’re all doing our best and some days are going to be ‘those’ kind of days.

Here’s to the EZ days,

Nikki

Nikki Anderson is a founding partner and a coach within Think Feel Know, USA. Her specialty is working with entrepreneurs, executive women, teams within small to medium sized businesses that are ready to grow to the next level. She is skilled at coaching individuals and groups and facilitating workshops, trainings and meetings to elicit connection, unity and clarity, resulting in forward action and bottom-line results.
Nikki is passionate about many things in her life although, at the core are health and wellness – her foundation. She is active in 12-step recovery work and is passionate about helping others to not only overcome their addictions but also to thrive in their life. You can learn more by visiting CoachNikki and ThinkFeelKnow.

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